The Cat and the Child
by StephanoGoldenEdition
Summary: -Edited- Ciel has a cold, and Sebastian tells him a familiar story... "Although they both knew how their story together would end, the child would always find the stranger a few paces behind him, looking out for him, for he made an oath to never leave the child's side and to guard him from harm until the Judgement came."


**Yay...I can't finish my homework because all the stuff I need is at school...:/ I do love History, but sometimes...Guess who has a major research assignment!? Guess who hasn't even started it yet!? GUESS WHO HAS NO IDEA WHERE TO GET THE INFORMATION FOR IT AS WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO USE THE INTERNET FOR IT!?**

**Sorry. Moving on...**

**These kind of fanfictions are just, mygosh, my thing at the moment. I don't even know why, they just...are. I actually got the idea from listening to "Right Here In My Arms", which is strange, but at least it didn't come from one of my metal songs...:p**

**Ciel: Well...it takes place maybe 6 months after he gets his contract.**

* * *

It was raining heavily outside; the rain pelting down and striking the glass windows of the Manor proved this fact. Thunder crashed, and lightning shot across the sky, illuminating it periodically.

It was, Sebastian reflected, on nights like this that the master liked to play a game of hide-and-seek with him. Ciel would run off at about 9:30 at night, and would find strange places to hide away in, trying to earn a few extra minutes before being taken to bed. Of course, Sebastian always knew where he was, but made sure to leave him for a few minutes, letting the young boy have his fun.

Unless, of course, it had been a trying day. On days like that, Sebastian would find Ciel in a matter of seconds and would, not always ceremoniously, carry him to bed, ignoring the shrill protests and the pleading from the young earl.

Fortunately for Ciel, today was _not _one of those days. Although, the child had been acting rather off for the past few days. He'd been sulking at his desk as of late, often falling asleep there. He'd also been off his food, only eating a bit here and there. This mildly concerned Sebastian; he was sure that the small amount of food that Ciel was eating was not good for him at all.

Sebastian stopped in front of a small cupboard that contained glasses and plates. At least, it was supposed to. The contents of said cupboard were scattered across the floor in a messy manner, and the cupboard door was slightly ajar, as if it couldn't close properly...

Opening the door, Sebastian stared at the earl curled in an awkward position, his legs in the air feet in the top left corner of the small cupboard. His head was pressed against his legs, and he stared back at the demon expressionlessly.

"I..." Sebastian shook his head, amazed, "I will not ask how you got in there, nor will I ask how you managed to fit all of yourself in there. However, I must insist that you retire for the evening, Bocchan."

"Fine," Ciel replied, his voice softer than usual. He grasped the side of the cupboard and ducked his head, moving forward and slowly disentangling himself from the small cupboard, finally crawling out and wincing.

"If you will follow me, my Lord..." Sebastian turned and left the room, Ciel slowly following behind.

"Very well," again, Ciel's voice held little expression, which the demon found puzzling. He'd been sounding like that as of late...perhaps he was sick?

"My Lord," Ciel shrugged at Sebastian's voice, "I have noticed you have been acting...different for the past few days...is something wrong?"

"No," Ciel shook his head once, "I am fine." He ended any chance of conversation by quickening his pace and striding past Sebastian, stopping at his bedroom door and crossing his arms over his chest, tapping his foot impatiently.

~ (Later that Night; 1:30 am)

Ciel opened his eyes, a sharp pain shooting through his head. He tried to sit up, but ended up laying back down again as the pain his head seemed to increase.

Wrapping himself up in his blankets, Ciel glared at the bedside table, trying to curl up tighter in his blankets.

_Since when was it so cold in the middle of _summer_? _He thought, burying his face into the pillow, _It's so cold in here..._

He coughed, and sniffed miserably.

_I still can't believe he hasn't noticed. Well, I _have _been doing everything in my power to stop him from noticing, but still! Ugh, this really is horrible...and there is no way I'll be going to sleep feeling like this..._

Yawning, the young earl gathered the blankets around his shoulders and slipped out of bed, leaving the room with the white blankets trailing behind him. The corridor seemed longer and darker than usual, and Ciel didn't like the idea of trying to find the spare blankets in the dark with a massive headache. A fresh wave of coldness dispelled his doubts, however, and he started down the corridor, feeling for doors or low cupboards.

The Manor was larger than Ciel had originally thought, and the blanket closet was _obviously _down the longest and darkest corridor. But, Ciel had finally found it, and was now trying desperately to reach the blankets up higher. They were the warmest, and Ciel was freezing, even with multiple other blankets over him.

Grasping the highest shelf that he could reach safely, Ciel placed his foot on the second-to-bottom shelf and began climbing, desperate to reach the warm blankets. He shook his blankets off, letting them fall and create a pile underneath him. Each shelf creaked ominously as Ciel put his weight onto each one, silently hoping that the shelves wouldn't break underneath him, which they almost seemed to want to do.

About a third of the way up, Ciel's headache seemed to intensify at the same time as a sneeze decided to escape the young earl. Partially disoriented from his headache, Ciel mis-stepped and found himself hanging from the shelf his hand was currently grasping. He felt a strange aching sensation in his shoulders and knees, and a fresh wave of weariness overcame him.

_Just let go._

Letting his fingers slip, Ciel fell, landing on the large pile of blankets. He felt a dull pain in his arm, but ignored it as he snuggled into the blankets and finally fell asleep.

~(That Morning)

"Dear me, Bocchan, you actually _did _get injured."

Sebastian shook his head, staring down at the sleeping earl.

"And to think I thought you would be fine...maybe your weariness blocked out the pain. Although, that doesn't excuse my failure." Bending down, the butler gently picked up the earl and took him to his room, laying him on the bed. He still couldn't believe that the young earl hadn't cried out in pain when he had fallen the previous night. Even more unbelievable was the fact that he had actually _let go _of the shelf.

_You won't last long if you act like you did last night, young Master, _Sebastian shook his head, still amazed.

"You're very warm, Bocchan," he mused, lying a hand on the boy's forehead, "Again, I should have sensed this. I apologise for not knowing about this earlier." He frowned slightly as a grimace crossed Ciel's face, "I still do not understand what you were trying to get from the closet last night..."

The young earl shivered and opened his eyes, curling up into a ball and staring at Sebastian. He let out a shuddering breath and averted his gaze, staring past the taller male.

"I can get up, you know," he muttered, "And did something happen last night that I should know about? I think I fell...?"

Sebastian studied him for a long time, before shaking his head,

"No, my Lord. You must have dreamt it." He glanced at Ciel's arm, "Yes, you dreamt it..."

"Whatever. Now let me get up," Ciel made a motion to rise, but was quickly stopped by Sebastian, who gently pushed him back down onto the bed. He made a noise of protest and was about to say something, but was cut of rather quickly.

"No, Bocchan," he said, "You are staying here. You are obviously unwell, and what kind of butler would I be if I let you go around in this state?"

"What? I'm perfectly-," he sneezed violently and suppressed a shiver, "-fine!"

"You just proved my point," Sebastian smiled faintly, "If you need anything, call. I have other matters to attend to," he bowed and turned to leave, but as he reached the door, he paused, "Oh, if you _do _leave the room, my Lord, I _will _know about it." With that, he left the room, the door clicking behind him.

Ciel stared at the door blankly, his headache still painfully obvious.

_Oh, no,_ he thought waspishly, _I will _not _require _anything _from him! I don't need help to get over a measly bug! I'm better than this..._

__He made a face at the door, gripping the blankets tighter and narrowing his eyes. Yes, he would get over this himself with no help _whatsoever_. The moment he asked for help would be the moment he admitted weakness, and that was unacceptable in these circumstances.

_Yes,_ the young earl sank back into the bed, laying his head on the pillow and closing his eyes, _I don't need his help. I'll get over this myself..._

~ (That Evening)

"Bocchan?" Sebastian knocked on the door, and was rewarded with Ciel saying "Get in here," in a sick-sounding voice.

Entering the room, Sebastian made his way over to the earl and sighed inwardly. He was wrapped in blankets again and shivering violently; he stared at the demon and sneezed.

"Bocchan, you should retire now," the demon was surprised when Ciel nodded and slowly disentangled himself from the blankets and sat up; a pained expression crossed the boy's face momentarily, but he quickly recovered and returned to staring steadily at the demon.

"You should ask if you need anything, Bocchan," Sebastian murmured, beginning to undress the earl, "You're shivering, you know..."

"Of course I know!" Ciel snapped, though half-heartedly, "I've only been shivering all day!"

"I was just letting you know that the invitation is there if you find it necessary, Bocchan," Sebastian replied coolly, and proceeded to finish undressing and redressing Ciel in silence. Of course, he knew that Ciel would rather die than ask for help; an issue the demon would have to work on if he was to perform his job properly. It was painfully obvious, however, that the earl _was _in pain, and that he _needed _some kind of treatment, however minimal.

Ciel crawled into bed, wrapping the blankets around him again, still observing the butler with teary eyes.

"If that is all, young master, I shall bid you-,"

"Wait! Uhm..." Ciel sat up again, and looked down, a faint blush crossing his cheeks in embarrassment "...Stay. Until I fall asleep."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow, but nevertheless placed the candelabra back down on bed side table and sat down on the bed; his every movement was watched with strange intensity by the young earl.

"...Tell me a story," Ciel looked up again, meeting Sebastian's somewhat surprised gaze.

"A story, Bocchan?" Sebastian narrowed his eyes, "I know many, yet none come to mind..."

"Just think of one off of the top your head, then!"

"...Very well, young master," Sebastian closed his eyes, then opened them again.

"**'**_**Many years ago**_**...'**" he began...

_**There lived a young...child, who had no name, or real purpose in life, and-**_

"Make it..." Ciel interrupted, ignoring Sebastian's disproving glance, "Dark, but with a nice ending!"

Sebastian paused, as if processing this, then continued as if no interruption had occurred:

_**-And was the victim of a terrible tragedy. The child's parents were no longer with him, and the child himself was barely alive himself. He would wander from village to village, hoping that someone would take him if for at least the night and feed him. Yet, every time eyes were cast on him, he was driven away by stones and harsh words. **_

_**The reason for this was that he had the strangest coloured eyes; one was the colour of the summer sky, but the other was a strange violet colour. For this reason, nobody wanted to be associated with him, for they saw him as an outcast and possessed, and they feared that he would bring pestilence and famine.**_

Ciel was completely enthralled by the story, it seemed; he looked more alert than he had in days and a frustrated expression crossed his face when Sebastian took a pause to think the next part through.

"Don't leave me hanging!" he snapped, crossing his arms over his chest, "Hurry up and continue!"

Sebastian smirked, but didn't reply, and continued with the story:

_**The child had never seen his reflection before, so he had no idea what he looked like. No-one had ever told him what he looked like, either, so he wandered from place to place with no idea what drove other people away from him. **_

_**When the child reached his eleventh year, he came across a stray cat. The cat had the blackest fur the child had ever seen on an animal, and the brightest blue eyes imaginable. The cat was sitting by a river, and it observed the child as he approached.**_

"_**What troubles you?" it spoke, causing the child to recoil in fright.**_

"_**You can talk!" the child exclaimed, and the cat laughed mirthlessly.**_

"_**So?" it asked, its tail twitching, "I am...gifted. Everyone takes it the wrong way, however. They assume I am evil...which I assure you, I am not. Now, reply to my earlier question."**_

_**At a loss, the child spilt his life story to the cat-**_

"Idiot," Ciel snorted disdainfully, earning a reprimanding glance from Sebastian.

_**-which sat there and silently listened to it. A faint shadow appeared in its eyes when the child mentioned that he had never seen his reflection before, and this shadow darkened when the child mentioned his confused anger to the last village he was stoned out of.**_

"_**My dear child," the cat purred, rubbing against the child, "I completely understand your situation. I too was scorned and stoned out of every village I came across. With the gift of speech came the curse of never being able to speak the tongue of animals. But...I can make you a deal."**_

"_**Really?" the child questioned, suspicion in his mismatched eyes.**_

"_**I will aid you in getting revenge on all who have wronged you, child," the cat's eyes glittered, "In return for one small favour..."**_

"_**What will the favour be?" the child narrowed his eyes.**_

"_**Oh, nothing much," the cat raised a paw in a dismissive manner, "Something small and petty; something you will not miss."**_

_**After careful deliberation, the child nodded, **_"_**Very well. I accept your offer."**_

"_**Follow me," the cat stood up, and headed off into the trees, and the young boy followed with eagerness.**_

_**The cat did as it had promised, and gifted the boy with unbelievable powers. For, in truth, the cat was really an evil spirit banished to the form of a cat, and made its existence off of feeding on young souls that wandered to his riverside. **_

_**The boy arrived at the village and destroyed it, people and buildings alike, ignoring the cries for mercy. Fire raged through the village, and the child's thirst for vengeance was quenched.**_

"_**Good, child," the cat said after the child had returned to him, "but, I need your help. The ones who have wronged me are still living, and, as I am unable to avenge myself, I need you to do so for me."**_

_**The child, who had now tasted power, eagerly agreed, and the duo proceeded to the next village, where once again, the child went on a destructive rampage.**_

_**And so this went on, from village to village, until the cat said one day,**_

"_**I want you to repay me now."**_

_**The boy, who was now twisted and corrupted with the power the evil spirit had given him, regarded the cat with scorn.**_

"_**What do you want of me, animal?" he growled, and the cat bristled.**_

**How dare this mortal talk to me this way!**_** It thought furiously,**_** Me, who gave him the power, being belittled and scorned!?**

"_**I require your soul as payment, child," the cat hissed, advancing.**_

"_**No!" the child stood up, power crackling in his hands; "I will not let you touch my soul!"**_

"_**It's part of our arrangement!" the cat bared its teeth, and the child looked less certain of himself.**_

"**It's part of the arrangement...**_**" the cat enunciated, eyes flashing.**_

The sleepy earl was resting his chin of Sebastian's shoulder, half asleep, but awake enough to process the story. His eyes were half-closed, and when Sebastian paused, he let out a discontented sound, which brought the faintest smirk to the demon's lips.

"You look tired, Bocchan," he said, "Shall I-?"

"No," Ciel muttered, "Finish the story."

"Of course, my Lord," Sebastian paused, rewriting the scene in his head as he recalled that Ciel had actually wanted a happy ending. Unusual.

_**A bright light appeared, and a figure was suddenly next to the twisted child. He had hair the colour of the cat's fur, and dark eyes that shone.**_

"_**One of the more evil spirits," the stranger said, sounding scornful, "There is a reason that we banished your kind to the mortal world."**_

"_**This is none of your business!" the cat hissed at the stranger.**_

"_**Yes, it is," came the calm reply, "This kind of deception is against the rules; you must devour them in the first year; you have waited until two years had passed. Therefore, the agreement is void."**_

_**The cat hissed, but scampered away when the stranger took a step forward. The child had remained silent this whole time, his gaze fixated on the tall stranger.**_

"_**That cat was an evil spirit," the child intoned, "He said he wasn't. He was a liar."**_

"_**Yes," the stranger nodded, "He is of the lowest rank."**_

"_**What do I do now?" the child's voice was still blank.**_

"_**You come with me," the stranger gave him a long look, "I could find you good work where I come from: there are not too many half-spirits anymore."**_

_**The child nodded, and took the stranger's hand.**_

Sebastian stopped talking when he heard snores in his ear, and smiled faintly at Ciel, who had fallen asleep on his shoulder and had wrapped his arms around the demon's neck to keep from slipping off. Disentangling the boy from himself, he lay the child on his bed and pulled the blankets around him. He blew the candelabra out, and bowed.

"Goodnight, Bocchan," he murmured. The demon paused, then bent slightly and whispered:

"_**The stranger looked after the child for the rest of his existence. Although they both knew how their story together would end, the child would always find the stranger a few paces behind him, looking out for him, for he made an oath to never leave the child's side and to guard him from harm until the Judgement came**_."

Sebastian sighed.

"**'**_**And, for the first time in his life, the child was loved and cared for.'**__"_

* * *

**Wow, that took me a while! Altogether, without both notes, this was 2,768 (now more, lol) words long: PERSONAL BEST! –cheers for myself-. I think this is...well, yeah. A bit OOC, I think, but who knows. No flames, please? **

**I worked forever on this...and I have a cold...which is where I got some of the storyline from. My cold. Also, the song 'Storm the Sorrow' inspired this, somewhat. So, my top description is a lie. My bad. Seeing as 'Storm the Sorrow' is metal...ahem.**

**~Stephano.**


End file.
